Automation Engineer Recruiters
Manufacturing Headhunters recruits manufacturing professionals nationwide.
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No postings. No stacks of resumes. No chasing. You interview a short list.
No upfront fee. You pay only if you hire.
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An automation engineer takes a manual or fragile step and turns it into a cell that runs and pays back. No upfront fee. You pay only if you hire.
No upfront fee. You pay only if you hire. We offer a candidate replacement guarantee on standard search agreements. The applicable period and exact terms are set out in the signed client recruiting agreement.
- No upfront fee
- Pay only if you hire
- Manufacturing only
- We reach people who aren't on job boards
- Replacement guarantee on standard searches
The hiring decision
What makes this hire work on your plant floor?
An automation engineer takes a manual or fragile step and turns it into a cell that runs and pays back. When a line has less rework and the operator is on a better task, the engineer designed it around the actual part, not a catalog. We search for people who have commissioned such cells in production.
We ask which cells the candidate took from concept through acceptance: the part, the cycle time target, the end-of-arm tool, guarding, the controls architecture and the day it ran in production. We want to know what failed in commissioning and how it was fixed. Design only or commissioning only is a different profile.
We ask how they handled a lost signal or a misplaced part and what the cell does in that case.
Before an introduction
What do we check before you interview?
Start with who owns the equipment after commissioning. A plant role needs someone who can support production, train maintenance and leave usable documentation. A machine-builder role may demand travel and repeated startups at customer sites. We separate those expectations before approaching anyone.
ROI justification
We ask for a project they justified: labor content, scrap, throughput, floor space, capital and payback logic, and what actual results looked like compared with the plan. We want honesty about misses.
Safety and standards
Guarding, light curtains, safety PLC functions, risk assessments and robot safety standards are part of the work. We ask what risk assessment method they used and how a safety validation was documented.
Fit to your plant
An integrator engineer and a plant engineer are different. We ask how they handled operator feedback, maintenance training and spare parts planning after handoff. Plants need someone who stays with the cell after launch.
Maintainability and spare strategy
We ask how the candidate chose components for availability, documented the cell, labeled wiring, and trained maintenance. We ask what spare parts plan they left behind and whether the cell was still running well a year later.
Do we need a plant automation engineer or a machine-builder background?
Start with who owns the equipment after commissioning. A plant role needs someone who can support production, train maintenance and leave usable documentation. A machine-builder role may demand travel and repeated startups at customer sites. We separate those expectations before approaching anyone.
Need a Automation Engineer? Tell us the plant and the seat.
Direct search
Where are qualified people working now?
Candidates sometimes come from manufacturing engineering teams who have specified automation without building it, and from vision or robot application engineers at suppliers. We consider them when they have close commissioning experience, and we are open about where design depth is lighter.
We find candidates at system integrators, machine builders and plants with active automation programs. Integrator engineers bring variety; plant-side engineers bring ownership after launch. We match to which your project needs.
We also look at controls engineers ready for a broader scope and robot service engineers who know how cells fail. We state clearly where design experience is thinner.
Candidates sometimes come from manufacturing engineering teams who have specified automation without building it, and from vision or robot application engineers at suppliers. We consider them when they have close commissioning experience, and we are open about where design depth is lighter.
Part presentation is where many projects struggle, so we ask how they handled variation in incoming parts, dunnage and fixtures. A cell that works with perfect parts and fails with real ones has a design problem. Candidates who have fixed that problem know to visit your dock and ask what the parts actually look like before they draw anything.
Which hiring mistakes should you avoid?
PLC with robot or vision integration. We screen for integration experience: a PLC exchanging data with a robot controller, a vision system sending pass or fail and offsets, and the handshakes that keep it stable. Maintainability and spare strategy. A cell that cannot be repaired by your technicians is a bad cell.
- PLC with robot or vision integration. We screen for integration experience: a PLC exchanging data with a robot controller, a vision system sending pass or fail and offsets, and the handshakes that keep it stable.
- Maintainability and spare strategy. A cell that cannot be repaired by your technicians is a bad cell.
- ROI justification. Automation fails when the justification is soft.
The search
How the search runs?
Outreach is direct, with a specific question about their latest cell. You receive a short list with notes on commissioning, integration and justification, plus concerns. We coordinate a technical review with your controls and operations leads, then support offer and start.
Agree the brief
We start with your project list, current controls platform, volumes and the labor tasks you want to remove. We write a brief that says which cells the hire will own.
Approach relevant people
Outreach is direct, with a specific question about their latest cell. You receive a short list with notes on commissioning, integration and justification, plus concerns. We coordinate a technical review with your controls and operations leads, then support offer and start.
Qualify the work and support the hire
We ask finalists to bring a cell they are proud of and one they would redesign. We share the second story with you in full. People who can explain what they would change are usually people who will question your project scope before the money is spent.
Need a Automation Engineer? Tell us the plant and the seat.
Which manufacturing settings need this role?
- Food Manufacturing
- Beverage
- Meat, Poultry & Protein
- Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG)
- Packaging
- Plastics & Rubber
- Metals & Fabrication
- Automotive (OEM, Tier 1, Tier 2)
- EV & Battery Manufacturing
- Aerospace & Defense
- Medical Devices
- Pharmaceutical & Biotech Manufacturing
- Chemicals & Specialty Materials
- Electronics & Electrical Manufacturing
- Semiconductors
- Building Products & Construction Materials
- Industrial Machinery & Equipment
- Energy & Power Equipment
- Paper, Pulp & Forest Products
- Textiles & Nonwovens
What should you know about questions about Automation Engineer searches?
Need a Automation Engineer? Tell us the plant and the seat.
What should you know about start your Automation Engineer search?
Which other roles should you consider?
Need a Automation Engineer? Tell us the plant and the seat.
What should you know about hiring guidance for this work?
What should you know about pay snapshot?
$122,930 annual national median for SOC 17-2199 Engineers, All Other.
BLS measures this broader occupation across industries. It does not publish a separate wage for this manufacturing title.
May 2025 OEWS, released 2026-05-15. BLS release · Official occupation data
Open the full salary guideNeed a Automation Engineer? Tell us the plant and the seat.
Get a talent snapshot for this roleHave your job description reviewed
What should you know about open jobs?
What else affects this Automation Engineer hire?
Yes: We describe your plant by process and project type until a candidate is qualified and you approve disclosure. We ask which cells the candidate took from concept through acceptance: the part, the cycle time target, the end-of-arm tool, guarding, the controls architecture and the day it ran in production.
When do we pay?
Only on a hire we introduced. No retainer is charged and no fee applies without a hire.
Is our search confidential?
Yes: We describe your plant by process and project type until a candidate is qualified and you approve disclosure. We ask which cells the candidate took from concept through acceptance: the part, the cycle time target, the end-of-arm tool, guarding, the controls architecture and the day it ran in production.
Can you reach engineers who are not looking?
Yes: They are usually in a commissioning window. We contact them directly and talk about the cells first.
Will candidates relocate?
Often, and we ask early. Integrator engineers with travel fatigue sometimes welcome a single plant. We arrange a visit before the offer.
Do you search Automation Specialist and similar titles?
Yes: We screen on commissioning, integration and ROI work and describe in notes how each title maps to the real scope. We ask which cells the candidate took from concept through acceptance: the part, the cycle time target, the end-of-arm tool, guarding, the controls architecture and the day it ran in production.
Need a Automation Engineer? Tell us the plant and the seat.
The Six-Step Search
What do you get before interviewing?
1. Search CalibrationYou get a hiring brief that separates the work, reporting authority and non-negotiable requirements. We agree what would make a candidate worth an interview before contacting anyone. 2. Market MappingYou get a defined search pool, not a reposted vacancy.
1. Search Calibration
You get a hiring brief that separates the work, reporting authority and non-negotiable requirements. We agree what would make a candidate worth an interview before contacting anyone.
2. Market Mapping
You get a defined search pool, not a reposted vacancy. We identify the kinds of plants and teams where people already handle comparable equipment, processes and operating demands.
3. Professional Contact Intelligence
You get a way to reach working people directly. We check professional contact routes and approach candidates discreetly, without making your plant or vacancy public unless you approve.
4. Persistent Personalized Outreach
You get individual conversations about the actual opening. We explain the work, shift and location, ask whether a move makes sense, and follow up without pretending every person is interested.
5. Live Candidate Qualification
You get evidence of fit before spending interview time. We talk through decisions, equipment, results and reasons for moving, then distinguish direct experience from skills that would need support.
6. Candidate Intelligence and Process Support
You get a focused short list with the information behind it. We explain motivation, practical constraints and concerns, support interviews, and keep offer decisions with your hiring team.
What should we discuss first?
How does your fee work for automation engineers?
A percentage of first-year base salary, agreed in writing before the person starts. It covers the full search.
What should you know before sending automation engineer?
When do you pay a recruiting fee?
No upfront fee. You pay only if you hire. The signed recruiting agreement sets the fee basis and payment terms. Sending an opening does not itself commit you to a fee or an exclusive arrangement.
How long does it take to see a short list?
We discuss the search conditions before describing a realistic next step. Shift, location, equipment match and the candidate's reasons for moving all matter. We do not promise a shortlist date before understanding the opening.
How do you handle counteroffers?
We ask what is driving the move before introducing a candidate. We discuss what might change if the current employer offers more money or a different job. Your team still decides whether that person's motivation fits the opening.
What replacement terms apply?
We offer a candidate replacement guarantee on standard search agreements. The applicable period and exact terms are set out in the signed client recruiting agreement.
What do you not do?
We do not bill hourly for a standard permanent search, repost a job-board ad as a search, or supply high-volume general labor. Retainers are not the default. Any different arrangement must be agreed in writing.